Students unveil 3D 'printed' medical devices

Graduate students Jeffery Weisman, left, and Uday Jammalamadaka pour antibiotic-infused plastic into extruders to create filments used to create prototype medical implants on a 3D printer.(Photo: Special to The Times.)

Tuesday, he, Karthik Tappa and Uday Jammalamadaka showed off prototype implants -- plastic rods and tiny beads -- they created in the past six months with an off-the-shelf 3D printer. They're seeking a grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their work at LSU Health Shreveport and Louisiana Tech in Ruston.

"We haven't seen this in any of the (scientific) literature. We believe we are on the forefront of this approach," said Dr. Gerald Capraro, head of LSU Health's microbiology lab.

Weisman believes the plastic implants could be a safer, more effective tool than bone cement in joint replacement surgery. The implants would contain antibiotics to fight post-surgery infections. Because the plastic breaks down in a person's body over time, a patient wouldn't have to undergo another operation to remove the implant.

Weisman is attending medical school/doctoral program operated jointly by LSU Health and Tech. Tappa and Jammalamadaka are in an nanoengineering program at Tech. They came up with the drug-infused devices while brainstorming how they could use 3D printers -- a staple in manufacturing since the 1980s -- to medicine

The prototypes work, at least against one common bacterium. Tappa displayed a petri dish containing an antibiotic-infused rod and e. coli bacteria, one of the samples used to test whether the devices work.

"There's a good kill zone here," he said, tracing a clear oval around the rod.

The trio also plans to study whether the implants could treat tumors.

"We've done this over the past few months. The speed shows the power in the collaboration between LSU and Louisiana Tech," Weisman said. "Just the day before we sent out the announcement, there was a futurist that predicted this (3D) use was five years away."